I frequently find myself in the position of thinking a workout is going to be “not that bad,” and then being quite surprised – either in the middle of filming it, or very soon thereafter – when it’s really freaking tough! Ha!

I mean, I suppose I knew on some level that this workout was going to be sweaty and that I would feel it afterward, since I almost always feel the dumbbell workouts the next day. But, man! I was maybe halfway through filming it, and I kept thinking to myself, “Oh, wow. This is a good one!” And here I am the next day, with the sore butt and shoulders to prove it!

The genius here is in the simplicity: there aren’t a lot of different exercises, and the format is tried-and-true bodybuilding stuff.

You can set your own challenge with the weight of the dumbbells, of course. I went with slightly lighter than I thought I might want, and I’m super glad I did. The cumulative effect of all these complex exercises definitely got to me by the end of the workout! Feel free to follow along with the exercise video below if you want some company while you’re working out (or if you need clarification on form), or you can print out this breakdown and take it with you to the gym.

Do three sets of ten reps of each exercise. On single-sided exercises, go back and forth between your right and left with no other rest. For unilateral work, perform the “active rest” exercise. Finish all three sets of one exercise before moving on to the next.